A heat exchange means for a cooking apparatus is, for instance, known from DE 197 08 231 A1. The heat exchange means of this prior art comprises a substantially horizontally arranged combustion chamber which communicates with a heat exchange pipe into which the combusted gas-air mixture is fed. The heat exchange pipe extends along the four sides of the cooking chamber in the direction away from the combustion chamber and reverses at the end of the fourth side by means of a free cantilevered fold in order to cover the same path in parallel to the pipe strand leaving the combustion chamber. Moreover, the single heat exchange pipe extends along the combustion chamber until below the free cantilevered fold from where the exhaust gas is discharged.
A particular disadvantage of this prior art results from the fact that a very long path in a heat exchange pipe is required of the heated gas, whereby only a relatively weak heat exchange is realized. Moreover, from the fluidic point of view, the course of the heat exchange pipe is extremely unfavorable due to the reversal of the flow direction required by this prior art.